Login
ISCOVER
A former NSW mortgage broker has been banned after providing false statements to the corporate watchdog.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Guodong Liu, also known as Louis Liu, from engaging in “any credit activities” for seven years after he allegedly made false statements.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
In making the decision, the financial services regulator said Mr Liu “knowingly made false statements” in two annual credit compliance certificates and an Australian credit licence application with ASIC.
Mr Liu worked as a director of mortgage brokerage businesses Wealth Investment Milestone Pty Ltd (WIM) and Aus Mortgage Pty Ltd (AUS) between November 2016 and December 2017, when the documents were submitted.
While director of AUS, Mr Liu falsely certified that none of the company’s nominated fit and proper people had their accreditation cancelled or suspended by a lender (he was nominated as a fit and proper person). However, ASIC alleges that Mr Liu had his lender accreditation with ANZ suspended in 2016.
The regulator said Mr Liu also made a “false statement directly to an ASIC staff member” in connection with the credit licence application.
In January and December 2017, Mr Liu, as the sole fit and proper person on Wealth Investment Milestone’s (WIM) licence again falsely certified that none of WIM’s fit and proper people had accreditation cancelled or suspended by a lender.
Mr Liu was convicted on 27 November 2020 in the Downing Centre local court after making the false statements in the above documents and fined $9,000.
However, following an appeal the District Court overturned Mr Liu’s conviction and sentence on 29 July 2021, but found him guilty of the offences and placed him on a two-year good behaviour bond.
In banning Mr Liu, ASIC found that he was not a “fit and proper person” to engage in credit activities.
ASIC found that Mr Liu’s actions showed a “lack of honesty, integrity, and judgement”, and that his failure to tell the truth about why he needed a new credit licence suggested a significant degree of deceit.
Mr Liu’s banning has been recorded on ASIC’s publicly available Banned and Disqualified persons register.
Mr Liu has the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
[Related: ASIC reveals credit licence freezes, overturned conviction]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION